Motor-vehicle.



F. W. HILD.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPucAnou HLED OCT-2.1916.

Patented; Feb. 1%, 1918 3 SHEETSSHEET I.

1 l i I l F. W. E'HLD.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION man 0e12, 1916.

Patented. Feb. 19, 1918.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. W. HILD.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION HLED 0e12, 1916.

Patente Feb. 3?) 1918.

FREDEEIC W. HILD, OF DENVER} COLORADG.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

vPatexited Application filed October 2, 1916. Serial 3:30. 23,292". 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIO W. HILD, a

citizen of the United States, residing at the same, reference being h'ad to the accompany ing drawings, and to the characters of. reference marked thereon, which form 'a' part of this specification. v

The present invention relates to improvements in conveyances and pertains more par:

ticularly to vehicles adapted for use in passenger service. More especially the inven tion relates to certain improvements in vari ous features ofconstruction includingnovei mountings for the wheel trucks, .wheels, and:

motors.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to, provide an arrangement by which the wheels of the vehicle are each connected and driven by a motor 'carried'at the outside of the wheel.

The invention also consists of the provi sion of improved features of-construct'ion.

whereby the several wheels are carried "on individual axles and each provided with a separate motor. The invention further con-- templates an improved manner of mounting the wheels so as to permit them to swing when rounding a curve through greater arcs than have heretofore been practicable. By

provision of the special forms of wheel mountings herein set forth the position of the car body relative to 'the ground is materially lowered which results in a greater economy of space than is possible with the higher body constructions'now in general use.

A further object of the invention consists in providing an improved type of supporting springs to insure-a more perfect equalization and distribution of the load. The provision and arrangement of the supporting springs are such that'the usual tendency of the vehicle body to rock from side to side is practically overcome and a perfect balance is established. 7

According to the present improvements, transverse wheel trucks {are provided for the wheels each adapted to support a pair of wheels independently meunted and driven.

-Extensions are provided para? truck frame ends being rigidly atta' thereto, with their outer extremities j naled in brackets on the body frame the tractive and braking et'l ""ts tors and wheels are transmitted v veyance body at" a'---point from the truck.

With these and lnvention consists iii-{the combination and arrangement of partsmore fully forth in the following specification, illustrated inthe accompanying drawin-" s and painted out in the appended claims.

in the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevational viewer the present invention, a portion of a car body or frame being shown in dotted lines.

tFig. 2' is a transverse section taken on the line 22of Fig. 4., parts being shcwn'iirelevation a Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 ofFig. 4-, thewheel appearing in side elevation.

Fig. i is'a top plan view of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental detail shown-in top plan view of one end of the wl e1 am-e drawn to an enlarged scale, illustrating wheel and motor mountings, the dash appearing. in section, and

Fig. 6 is, a vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

While the improvements comprising the present invention are primarily intended for application to electric street cars or tramways it will be understood that the novel features herein disclosed are not in. any limited to this particular use as they would be equally applicable to any form of passen: ger carrying vehicle whether it was adapted to run on railway tracks or on a street or road as is the case with a large-automobile passenger truck, omnibus or the like. The invention is for convenience, illustrated and described as being embodied in the construction of an electric street car.

Referring now to the drawings the car body or frame structure 5 is indicated by dotted lines in the several views. A lower wheel frame or truck supports the car body and comprises a pair of parallel horizontally disposed channel bars 6 and 7 suitably spaced by intermediate pairs of cross bars 8 and 9 and connected at their ends by curved channel bars lOLand 11. The skeleton frame of other objects in view the the swiveled connection 14.

The wheels 15 are pivotally supported within the end sections A and (3 each being suitably carried on a stub axle 16 whose inner ends are carried in mountings supported by the respective cross bars 8 and 9 and several wheels 15 with their corresponding motors M are similarl connected to the frame parts hence a detai ed description of one will suffice for all. Considering. the wheel 15 shown at the left hand side ofthe figures, a knuckle joint comprising ayoke member 17 is provided being secured to the bars 8'and'9 and its upper and lower extremities by means of a bolt 18 or the like passing through the parts. The wheel axle 16 extends within the yoke 17 and. is fixedly attached to a knuckle piece 19 pivoted on a pin 20 which is provided at its lower extremity with any suitable securing device, such as the nutor cap 21. The upper bar 8 extends upwardly from either side of the wheel frame to form an inverted ll-shaped bracket to the central part of which the top of the knuckle plate 1? is secured. The lower bar 9 is slightly offset near its central portion and engages the lowerend of plate 17 I The extremities of these two plates 8 and 9 are fastened together and secured at opposite sides of the truck or Wheelframe by bolts and nuts 22 passing through'the lower edges of the channel bars 6 and 7 The knuckle plate 19 has formed integral therewith a face plate 23 to which the ends of the motor supporting frame pieces are bolted. A pair of supporting strips or bars 24 are bolted to opposite sides of the motor M. These members extend outwardly on opposite sides of the wheel 15,0ne of said members extending for a distance 25 parallel with the channel bar 6, they are then bent inwardly until their ends extend in a plane at right anglee to the wheel frame. These end portions incline c'iownwardly and are bolted to the lower part of the face plate 23 by suitable bolts 26. A second pair of supporting strips 27 are bolted to the inner face of the motor at opposite points. These strips are provided with V-shaped portions 28 bent around the wheel 15. Their ends extend inwardly and upwardly in the, same vertical plane as the ends of strips 24, and are bolted to the upper part of face plate 23 by means of bolts 29. Where the ends of strips 24 and strips 27 cross they are fastened together by bolts 30. The motor M is provided with a number of rearwardly extending stub shafts 31 carrying on their outer extremities anti-frictional rollers 32 adapted to engage and move masses in the curved end channel bar 10, as the motor swings with the wheel 15 about the knuckle joint 17. The wheel hub 16 is pivoted to I swin about the pin 20 but is fixed against rotation. Within the body of the wheel 15 the hub 16 extends radially outwardly forming a air of flanges 33 between which a pair 0 planetary gears 34 and 35 are journaled adapted to be driven by a pinion 36 on.

the end of the motor armature 37 and in turn to drive a rack 38 at the inner circumference of the wheel The hub 16 is also an integral part of the motor casing. The form of re duction gearing used within the wheel 15 is of the old and well known type.

In order to provide for the two wheels 15 turning in unisonas the car rounds a curve,

.ing rods 40 is made in two sections 40 and 40 having their inner ends operating within a dash pot 42. The dash pot 42 is divided centrally into two chambers 43 separated by a partition 44. A piston head 45 is provided in each chamber 43, the two being rigidly coupled by a rod 46 passing through a central aperture in the partition 44. To outer sides of the pistons the rod sections40 and 40" respectively are linked-.. Oil or other suitable fluid is containedgwithin the inner ends of the chambers 43 a port 47v being provided in the partition 44 to permit the passage of the fluid from one-chamber to the other, said portbeing also provided with means for controlling the flow of liquid therethrough as shown at 48. Coiled springs 49 within the outer ends of the chambers-43 bear against the piston heads 45 and tend to hold them against sudden displacement. It will be readily seen that should one of the wheels be given a sudden jerk by coming in contact with an obstacle on the track,

it would cause an immediate compression of the correspondin coiled spring and an increased flow of 01]. toward that chamber 23, thus gradually cushioning the shock. When the force of the blow is spent and under normal conditions, the compression of the oppositely disposed springs will cause an equalizing action of the parts, which, however, will permit of the necessary movement when the wheels swing around a curved piece of track.

The frame or car body as shown extends downwardly over the middle wheel frame section B and also downward at the outer ends of the sections A and C. Four inverted V-shaped supporting brackets 50 are bolted at suitable places on the upper surfaces at the channel bars 6 and Z and to the upper end of each is secured, by clips 51, a heavy spring 52 comprising a plurality of up-' wardly bowed superimposed-leaves 53. The mner end of each spring 52 is slldably secured to a depending rod or bolt 54. whichlatter is encircled by a heavy coiled spring 55 the ends of which are separated from the upper framework and spring respectively by interposed washers 56. The tension of the spring 55 is adjustable by meansof nut 57 carried on the lower end of bolt MJ The outer ends of spring 52 are connected with bracket plates 58 secured to the lower most part of the vehicle frame. The connection between these parts each consists of a bolt 59 secured to the lower plates 58 and provided at its upper end with a washer 60 retained by means of a nut 61. An outer housing 62 of rectangular shape is secured to the outer end of spring 52 being perforated at its lower end and surrounding rod 59. Within this housing is provided a heavy coiled spring 63 adapted to abut at its lower end against a washer 64 and at its upper end against the washer 60, the spring bemg normally under slight tension.

It will be seen that as the weight of the load of the car body is pressed downwardly the springs 54 will be compressed and a downward pressure will be exerted thereby vide a more flexible and equally balanced spring support than would otherwise be the case. The spring mountings are such that they are particularly well adapted for use on car bodies having a central portion extending downwardly between the wheels as is here shown. a

By means of the separate pivotal mountings for the several wheels and the individual motors associated and adapted to turn with the wheels a freer action is obtained than could possibly result from a construc tion in which the wheels were connected by arigid interposed axle. Not only does this arrangement provide a more flexible and eliicient turning action of the several wheels 1 but it also provides an additional space which can be advantageously employed for the purpose of providing a car body having its floor extending to a level near the surface of the round. 7

An ohvious modification of the feature of the invent-ion pertaining to e v vertical axis.

the motors outside of the wheels sist of an arrangement whic motor was suitably supported 0 the car body and. at the outside of tire w i the said motor being connected proper gearing to simultaneously drive wheels on the same side of the vehit e.

Having described my invention what claim is:

1. The combination with the transvers wheel truck of a motor car, of a pair wheels mounted thereon so as to swing independently of each other about vertical axes, and a separate motor for each wheel adapted to swing therewith, the said motors being supported at the outer sides of corresponding wheels.

2. The combination with the wheel truck of a motor car, of a pair of wheels mounted thereon so as to swing independently of each other about vertical axes and flexible means connefiting said wheels.

3. The combination with the transverse wheel truck of a motor car, of a pair of wheels mounted thereon-so as to swing independently of each other about vertical axes and a pair of parallel rods flexibly connecting said wheels.

l. The combination with the transverse wheel truck of a motor car, ofa pair of wheels mounted'thereon so as to swing independently of each other about vertical axes, a pair of parallel rods flexibly connecting said wheels, one of said rods including shock absorbing means.

The combination with the wheel truck of a motor car, of a pair of wheels mounted thereon so as'to swing independently about vertical axes, motors attached to the respective wheels and to the truck, said motors adapted to move in unison with the wheels.

6. The combination with'the wheel truck of a motor car, of a pair of wheels, a motor mountedupon the truck and associated with I each, pivotal connections between said wheels and the truck, and movable connections between the motors and the truck whereby the wheels with their associated motors are each capable of independent movement about a 'LA motor car comprising in combination a wheel truck frame, a pair 0t independently pivoted wheels mounted thereon, a car body and supporting springs therefor, said springs each having its opposite ends connected with said body from their upper and lower sides respectively.

8. A motor car comprising in combination a wheel truck frame, a pair. of independently pivoted wheels mounted thereon,

a car body and supporting springs thereton.

said springshaving their central portions connected w th said truck and their ends connected with the car body so as to cause a dewnward pushing at one end of each whereby the Wheels with their associated in spring and a downward pulling at the oppomotors are each capable of independent site end thereof. A movement about a vertical axis. 9. The combination with the Wheel truck In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, 2% of a motor car of a pair of Wheels, a motor in presence of two Witnesses.

mounted upon the truck and associated With FREDEBIC W. HILD. each Wheel, movable connections between the Witnesses:

said Wheels and the truck, and slidable con- H. A. VILLEMAGNE,

neetions between the motors and the truck, C. E.- PARSONS.

Gognfiee ei this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ei katente Washington, D. C. 7 

